Weather Emergencies

All decisions on school closures or delayed openings are made by the Superintendent of Schools in consultation with local police, township road supervisors and Lenape Regional Council Superintendents. During an overnight storm, it is typical for that group to phone-conference by about 4 a.m.

If it snows … or other weather conditions cause us to close schools or announce a two-hour delayed opening, here’s how you will know:

Our School Messenger System is set-up to call all 4,200 families within 14 minutes. It pulls its information from our PowerSchool Student Information System, so if you change one of your phone numbers by advising your school office, that information will update automatically on the day that it is entered by the school secretary.Through School Messenger, we call your primary phone number with a recorded message. If we have cell numbers for you, the message goes to them also.

In addition, we send an e-mail to any e-mail address listed in your account and we text the message to your cell numbers, as long as you have opted-in to receive those messages. If you would like to receive emergency notifications via text message, you must opt-in. Simply text the word subscribe to the number 68453 from your cell phone. You'll receive an immediate reply confirming your subscription to the service. You may sign-up for text messages using this method on as many cell phones as you would like.

Because so many of our parents commute long distances to work each day, we send these calls out beginning at 5 a.m., so that childcare arrangements can be made. We will not call you earlier than 5 a.m. If you do not want to receive emergency messages on your home phone, you must contact us in the Office of Communication Services (856-235-3387, ext. 3018) and ask that a change be made. Please note that if you do that, your home phone will not be called in any emergency, not just the early morning ones, so make sure you have a current cell phone number in the system.

In addition to the recorded phone message, e-mail and text we send via School Messenger, school closures, delayed openings, or early closures due to emergency will also be posted on our district and school home pages on the web and shared via our Facebook and Twitter pages. Local news stations are also advised, as is Lenape's Cable Channel.

In the event of a delayed-opening: All schools will start two hours later than usual. Lunch will be available for purchase. Extended Day Care Option and Extended Day Care will open two hours later than normal, and there will be no pre-school classes.

When weather or other emergencies cause schools to have to close early: If a severe storm should begin once school is in session, all effort will be made to dismiss schools early enough to allow students to reach home before roadways become hazardous. If schools are closed early due to weather, Extended Day Care will also be closed.

Please note: On delayed opening days, buses will pick-up students two hours earlier than the normal scheduled time. There are no preschool classes, and Extended Day Care and EKO schedules are also adjusted to open two hours later. Lunch will be served as normal.